Richard Angelo
Background Richard Angelo was born in Long Island, New York City, New York; August 29, 1962. His parents were both in the educational system, his mother was an economics teacher, his father a high-school guidance counsellor. From a young age, Angelo suffered from Hero Syndrome. He became an Eagle Scout and later, after graduating high school in 1980, a volunteer fireman. At the age of 26, Angelo began working at Good Samaritan Hospital on Long Island, New York as an emergency medical technician. When he was unable to gain enough upraise, Angelo devised a scheme to gain more attention; he would poison the hospital's patients by injecting un-prescribed paralytic drugs, and then he would "rescue" his victims, thus proving his "expertise" to his coworkers and other patients, impressing them as a result. For many, Angelo's plan fell deathly short. Several patients died before he was able to intervene and save them from his deadly injections. Angelo, not swayed by his inability to keep his victims alive, continued injecting patients with a combination of the paralysing drugs, Pavulon and Anectine, sometimes telling the patient he was giving them something which would make them feel better. Victims Angelo began by poisoning John Fisher and then attempting to save him. However, his plan failed horribly. Fisher died before he could be saved. 1987 * April - John Stanley Fisher ,75. (suffering from a stroke). * September 16 - Milton Pultney, 74. (had gail bladder surgery). * September 21 - Joseph Francis O'Neil, 79. (suffering from gastrointestinal problems). * October 9 - Frederick LaGois, 60. (had prostrate surgery). * October 16 - Anthony Greene, 57. (suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) * Unspecified dates: ** Unnamed Victim ** At least 25 unnamed victims (all poisoned, but rescued in time) * October 11 - Gerolamo Kucich, 73. (poisoned; was rescued in time; suffered from chest pains). After several months of this deadly cycle, Angelo was finally caught when he injected poison into Gerolamo Kucich while he was awake. After being poisoned, Kucich immediately pressed the call button for the nurses, who rushed to the scene just as Angelo escaped. Kuciich's life was saved and he gave authorities a physical description; the police then linked the prescription to Angelo. His apartment and his locker were searched, and both searches recovered stashes of the drugs Angelo used to poison his victims. Incarceration During the trial, two psychologists testified that he has dissociative identity disorder, a type of mental disorder in which a person displays multiple personalities, all distinct. The disorder left him unaware of what he was doing since he had been in a different personality when he poisoned his victims. However, two mental health experts countered that while Angelo suffered from a personality disorder, it was not dissociative identity disorder and therefore he knew what he was doing during the murders. In the end, Angelo was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, one count of second-degree manslaughter, one count of criminally negligent homicide, and six counts of assault, sentencing him to 50 years to life in prison. He is still currently incarcerated for his crimes.